Tilburg University Lecture Hall
A Circular Cube
Tilburg University’s new lecture hall is the Netherlands’ first mass timber-built academic building and a pioneering example of circular design. The new energy-neutral building sits on a small footprint of 33 x 33 meters, and contains 14 lecture rooms, selfstudy areas and a foyer. Set within a wooded landscape, the lecture hall’s timeless form echoes the existing Modernist structures on the campus.
Together with our client, we upped our ambition during the design process resulting in a carbon neutral, completely circular, and BREEAM Outstanding design.’
Triumph in Timber
Triumph in Timber
We tackled significant design challenges to realize the mostly cross-laminated timber structure – like the wooden rib floors that span a groundbreaking 9 meters while meeting the complex demands required by an educational building. The dry construction system employs 4.6 kilometers of timber beams that are demountable for future reuse. Additionally, hanging the limestone façade panels, rather than gluing them, allows the stone to be recycled too.
From action to contemplation
Ground floor
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
Section
The lecture hall breathes the atmosphere of the library and the monastery, in line with the original Modernist buildings on the campus.’
Contemplative Calm
Contemplative Calm
Inside, as with the Cobbenhagen building, the fixtures and furniture are intrinsic parts of the design. A natural palette is used throughout – wood, stone, and plaster – from the lofty sculptural space of the lecture hall, to intimate window niches. Besides the exposed structural timber, simple wooden tables, benches, and cruciform reading lamps exude a sense of serenity and calm. Expansive windows allow natural light to flood the space while playfully capturing a range of views, some unexpected – the sky, a single tree, or people walking to the campus.
Timeless tranquility
